3 Secrets to Soloing with the Pentatonic Scale: A Lesson with McCoy Tyner

No pianist has influenced the modern approach to jazz piano more than McCoy Tyner. From players like Chick Corea and Mulgrew Miller to non-pianists like Woody Shaw and Michael Brecker, McCoy has left his mark on generations of serious improvisers. And one distinctive element of his approach to improvising is his creative use of the pentatonic scale.

But it’s more than the five simple notes that most musicians think of using over a minor chord. As you’ll soon learn below, the pentatonic scale can add a wealth of harmonic and melodic possibilities to your solos.

The Blues is a form that every improviser must learn and master if they want to become a proficient player. You can approach it with blues language, bebop, or even modern and outside approaches – it all comes together in the blues.

Notice how this scale emphasizes the b3, b7 and 11th of the Bb7 chord in a way that is very similar to traditional blues language or the blues scale. Here’s another example that starts on the 5th note of the Bb minor pentatonic scale:

On both dominant chords he uses a minor pentatonic scale built on the 5th – Bb minor pentatonic over the Eb7 and an F minor pentatonic over the Bb7:

But wait a second, why does this work? This scale is missing the one note that defines the harmony – the 3rd.

Well, this concept goes back to the bebop reharmonization technique of approaching the V7 chord as the related minor ii chord, for example thinking F- over Bb7:

You can also think of that static dominant chord as the related ii-V7. For example, F-7 Bb7 over Bb7.

Review your minor pentatonic scales in all 12 keys

Practice visualizing the minor pentatonic scale from the root and 5th of V7 chords

Turn on a play-a-long and practice applying these scales over the dominant chords in your solo

A Note on McCoy’s Left Hand…

The signature “McCoy Tyner sound” hinges on one thing – his left hand.

McCoy’s left hand is central to the lines he plays in his right, both rhythmically and harmonically. Those iconic 4th and 5th voicings that you hear are perfectly suited for the pentatonic and intervallic lines he plays on top.

Additionally, the absence of tertian structure in his voicings allows for more harmonic freedom. Below are 3 unique aspects of McCoy’s left hand…

Theopen 5th:

McCoy often plays the root and 5th of a chord in his left hand, creating a pedal point for his 4th voicings and improvised lines. If you’ve listened to the classic Coltrane Quartet or any of McCoy’s extensive discography you’ve heard this sound:

Throughout this solo McCoy voices dominant chords in stacked 4ths – either from the root of the chord or the 7th of the chord. For example, over Eb7 he will play Db, G, C and then switch to 4th’s built on the root (Eb, Ab, Db):

The tritone interval in the augmented 4th (Db to G) creates more tension while the perfect 4ths are an open sound that don’t require resolution.

Side-stepping with the left hand:

One reason why McCoy has so much harmonic freedom on a simple blues is that he justifies the lines in the right hand with the voicings in his left. After he hits the open 5th in the bass he is free to any number of harmonic colors or movement with the 4th voicings:

Go to the piano/keyboard and practice these different voicings for V7 chords

Use a drone to sustain open 5ths and improvise, exploring different harmonies and pentatonic scales

Record a practice track of either open 5ths or 4ths and improvise with the minor pentatonic scale

Loop a section of McCoy’s comping in Transcribe! and create a solo over these voicings

2) Utilizing shapes and patterns within the pentatonic scale

The cool thing about using pentatonic scales and patterns in your musical approach is discovering the different intervallic possibilities within those 5 notes…

Unlike the whole and half-step sequence of the major scale, the five notes of the pentatonic scale naturally lend themselves to leaps of minor 3rds, 4ths and 5ths.

Without the harmonic pull of leading tones or the rigid structure of tertian harmony, every note is essentially equal in relation to the harmony. Because of this, you can focus on shapes, cells, and patterns with the notes of the pentatonic scale.

Check out how McCoy plays a quartal pattern based on the Bb minor pentatonic scale:

And study how he uses scale patterns, fragments, shapes, and sequences to create melodic interest with the pentatonic scale. The line below is a great example of how to combine these concepts musically:

Now apply it to to different chords (minor, dominant, 5th of dominant, major, etc.)

3) Creating harmonic tension with pentatonic scales

McCoy Tyner was a master of creating harmonic tension and release within his own solos and the harmonic textures he provided behind other soloists.

Throughout his solo on Blues on the Corner, he utilizes harmonic tension at pivotal points in the progression to create interest in his musical phrases.

A perfect spot to employ harmonic tension and release in your own solos is over V7 to I motion. In the blues this happens between the 4th and 5th bar of the progression as the I chord moves to the IV7 chord:

Take a listen to how McCoy creates harmonic tension at this spot as Bb7 resolves to Eb7:

McCoy creates this effect by utilizing the minor pentatonic from the root, shifting up a half-step to a B minor pentatonic, and resolving the line through standard ii-V motion:

Another example of this technique occurs in the last two bars of the form leading to the start of another chorus. Here he uses a pattern of ascending 4ths, similar to the 3rd and 4th bars of the melody:

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